Nowadays, various items of information are distributed via a network to a user who utilizes a computer and other terminals. Then, with an increase in quantity of information to be distributed, a variety of technologies are proposed, which reduce concentration of a load on a server for distributing the information or on a network via which the information is transmitted. For example, a known technology is that the terminal has a relay function to share a part of the distribution load of the server.
The following system is exemplified as a first example in which the terminal has the relay function to share a part of the distribution load of the server. In the system in the first exemplification, a client as an information requester queries another client on the network about a desired content of a moving picture. Then, if a distribution-enabled response saying that the content can be distributed to this query is given, the requester client issues a request for distributing the moving picture content to the client which sent back the distribution-enabled response. Then, the requester client reproduces the received moving picture content. Further, if no response to the query is given from any clients, the requester client issues a request for distributing the desired content to the server.
The following system is exemplified as a second example in which the terminal has the relay function to share a part of the distribution load of the server. In the system in the second exemplification, as a first distribution mode, a device for distributing the content distributes by streaming in a broadcasting mode the content data to the terminals. Further, as a second distribution mode, between a plurality of terminal devices, one terminal device, which retains the content data, distributes the content data on the basis of a request for downloading the content data from another terminal device. Another system is proposed, which has both of the first distribution mode and the second distribution mode.